Best Front Seat Dog Guards & Pet Barrier

Do you prefer to travel with your dogs on the back seat but still need to keep them separate from you driving in the front. You may require something like a front seat dog barrier. With these functional car aids you can put a barrier up between the front and back seats in just a few minutes, there are different types of designs, portable dog barriers and they're all easy to fit in to pretty much any car seat arrangement.

The last thing you want to do is get distracted by your dog when driving, this is illegal in the UK so we highly recommend either a harness and buckle attachment so they are strapped in or a dog barrier. This way if they are a pup and working out where they are allowed in a car it will keep them away from the front of your car. Our little pup really didn't want to be away from us as he grew up and putting him on the back seats was hard work, but after a few journeys he understood and learned that he had to stay in the back, all with the help of a dog barrier.

If you were to have a crash with your dog in the back, having a barrier will mean that they aren't flung forward through the car and out through the front window. They will at worse move just a foot forward to the back of the front seats and hopefully this will result in less damage. You may be better off with a mesh or fabric style barrier in this instance as a hard or barred one won't be as good.

With a hard barrier, like the one we have reviewed below, it will be impossible to use these in your 3 door car because you will need to move your seats forward and back to let your dog or people in to the back seats. The barrier is rigid and won't bend or move when just one of the seats is moved forward. In this scenario, with a 3 door car of which you utilise the back seats, we would recommend a fabric and soft dog barrier as you should still be able to move one of the seats forward if you need to.

The Lifepul fabric dog mesh barrier comes in first out of our roundup of dog pet barriers. It is a great price, we prefer portable equipment so when it's not in use we can fold it up and pack it away under a seat or in the boot. It ticked all the boxes and fitted well to our car, can't say much bad about it really.

The Nniuk and Streetwize both came in 2nd and 3rd in our ratings but they are very similar products. One has better viewing in to the rear seats than the other but the Streetwize had the option of pockets on it so you can stow dog equipment in there if you needed to. They both fitted in the same way around the seats of the front of the car and would both hold back and stop any dog getting through to the front seats.

Our final review was the Motion Performance rigid dog barrier set up. If you need something a bit sturdier then this may be the option for you. It took longer to fit and if you have a small dog it might get through the gaps but it will definitely keep a large dog in the rear seats where you want them.

The Lifepul Pet Dog Barrier is made from a 600D heavy duty Oxford cloth with two window nets made from nylon. If you pull the material it is strong and also durable without it being too flimsy.

To put the barrier in place you will need to loop around the front seat brackets at the base and strap around clip the straps at the top around the headrests and tighten. What is great about it is that it is secured at both the top and bottom of the barrier which is great for dogs especially like ours that likes to be wherever we are and can sneak their way through things to do so. Having 4 buckle clip points means the barrier feels secure in place so you don't have to worry about it moving or banging around.

The length and width of the Lifepul dog barrier is a good size, if you have a small car you don't have to worry about it being too large it will just cover a little more of the back of the front seats as long as you have tightened it. It you do not have headrests to your car, the straps are quite long so they could be tightened to go around the seat, not the most ideal but could be a solution. The adjustable straps provide the option to use it on many types of cars and SUV's.

This barrier is very light at 200g and can be easily folded up and stowed away in the glove box, a side compartment or even in your dogs travel bag if you have one.

The unique design to the Lifepul dog barrier is the nylon netting at the top and at the bottom of the barrier. The top netting has very tiny gaps but provides good viewing through it, allowing you to be able to check on your dog through the barrier as well as your dog feeling confident they know where you are too.

The lower netting is a little larger in terms of gap size with the aim to provide good ventilation through the car, this is great little feature as especially on a warm day if you are using air conditioning you want it to easily get to your beloved companions on the back seat.

Pros

Lightweight

Easy to install

Well made and well designed

Secured at both the top and bottom

Available for next day delivery with Amazon Prime

Lower mesh provides excellent ventilation

For use in many cars

Suitable for different dog sizes

Your dog can still see you through to top mesh

Cons

Requires headrests

Verdict

I feel this is a fantastic product for keeping your dogs from the front seat, it is well designed and well made to suit a variety of car and dog sizes as well as providing needed supervision and ventilation to your dog.

The NNIUK Pet Dog Barrier provides little opportunity for your dog to hide. It provides full view for both yourselves and your dog(s) using meshing all along the barrier. The gaps are very dense so there is no opportunity for your dog to get through it.

There is no worry that the barrier will not fit a large vehicle as the length and width measures 115cm by 62cm so as dog barriers go this is pretty huge. If anything for some cars it may be a bit to big in which case it will come further around to the sides of the seat and will need to be fixed to the ceiling. The mesh netting strong and reminds me of netting you would use to carry sports gear it. It lacks any fixed or rigid ability but when pulled and fastened tightly it will not be able to move. The extra eyelets in the middle, bottom and top of the barrier provide to opportunity to increase this ability with further attachments if you purchase more yourself. I would recommend doing this if you have a small dog as they may be able to wiggle underneath the barrier if there is a big enough gap between the seats.

To secure the barrier in place there are 5 eyelets along the rim of the barrier and comes with four bungee cord hooks to attach around secure points in the car such as the seat brackets and even the grab handles on the ceiling of your car. What is great about this guard is that is does not rely on attaching to the headrests of your front seats for it to work.

This also has to be the easiest dog guard barrier to stow away, it can be rolled or folded down into a very tiny package to put in a bag, car side pocket or glove compartment.

Pros

Strong and durable

Barrier between front and back seats

Small to medium dogs cannot climb over

Does not require attachment to headrests

Mesh allows for dog to still see you and the front of the car

Easy to set up and use

Available for next day delivery with Amazon Prime

Cons

Not rigid

May be ripped down by a large dog

A small dog may wiggle underneath if the lower eyelets are not attached

Verdict

This is an easy to use and maintain dog guard that provides a full view through it and does not rely on the headrests to put it up.

Review of Streetwize Pet Barrier for Front Car Seats

This is a review of the Streetwize SWPET4 Pet Barrier, a fabric dog guard which you can also put dog essentials in too.

The Streetwize SWPET4 is actually a lot bigger and sturdier than it looks. I was expecting something which was fully fabric that would have to be tied tight for it to stay rigid however there is actually a steel wired frame within the barrier to provide a solid structure and then covered in robust polyester fabric with two large pockets and mesh netting to the top.

The mesh netting provides quite a narrow view point through the barrier so your dog would have to be medium to large to see you through it and it would only give you a small viewing point to look back at your dog through. This netting also does provide a little bit of ventilation through the barrier to help with air flow through the car.

The Streetwize SWPET4 Pet Barrier can also be used as a car tidy too. I have to say with our dog the idea of having the pockets filled with dog toys, balls and treats would either have them pulled out straight away if they were facing his way or it would make him want to chew the barrier to get at them it on the other side.

As the steel within the barrier is wire and not a pole this makes it still fairly light, easy to carry and stow away under the passenger seat.

Pros

Padded and strong

Contains pockets

Long lasting and durable

Provides a safe haven in the back seat

Dog cannot climb over

Simple and effective

Cheap

Cons

Requires attachment to headrests which some cars do not have

Limited viewing through the barrier

Verdict

This is a good quality dog barrier which comes at a bargain price, it is durable and effective as a car tidy also.

Review of Motionperformance Essentials Universal Pet Dog Barrier

This is a review of the Motionperformance Essentials Universal Pet Dog Barrier

The Motionperformance Essentials Universal Pet Dog Barrier is a very simple yet sturdy barrier. The barrier consists of 3 main large and thick poles that are vertical, two horizontal bars and a curved bar at the top.

The bars are adjustable to be moved inwards towards each other. At first glance it looks like a dog may be able to squeeze through the gaps between the barrier however this actually is only true if your car size does not match your dog size. With a little dog and a small car the bars can be fixed more closely together and with a larger dog in a large car the bars can be moved further apart and that works fine. The problem occurs if you have a big car but with a small dog. We have a cocker spaniel and with our small fiat panda it works fine however had he been in a larger car such as as a ford kuga he would easily get himself through the gaps. In this scenario adding some strong meshing to the barrier could help.

To attach the barrier into place requires you to fasten the two top straps provided around the front seat headrests, now depending on how curious and determined your dog is this can also be a problem with this barrier as there are only two attachments rather than four. It really does need those two extra at the bottom to help hold it in place because as it is very sturdy it only requires a curious nose to try and go under and up to realise they can tunnel underneath it.

It is built of a strong solid construction for a dog barrier. That being said it is also the heaviest at 1.2kg and not the easiest to stow away due to its rigid structure, this is definitely more of a permanant barrier for your car.

Pros

Sturdy

Strong construction

Suits majority of cars

Able to accommodate most breeds depending on the size of gap

Cons

A little heavy

Loose as no bottom fasteners to the barrier

If your car is large and you have a small dog the bars in the barrier will be far enough apart to let dog through.

Not easily stowed

Verdict

If you constantly travel with a dog on your back seats, this rigid and semi-permanant fixture could be the one for you. You may struggle with a 3 door car though because you may need to move your seats forward to let passengers in.

If your dog is large and you think it could get through a fabric net guard, then this will be your perfect choice.